Rochdale 1-4 Stoke: Battling Potters book FA Cup fifth round spot

Stoke City will travel to Blackburn in the fifth round of the FA Cup after sealing their progression with a battling 4-1 victory at Rochdale.

The Potters opened the scoring after the four minutes through Bojan’s stunner, but they were the poorer side in a dominant first half for the hosts.

League One Rochdale had a handful of opportunities to level but failed to take their chances, while Mark Hughes’ men doubled their lead against the run of play when Stephen Ireland, who replaced the injured Bojan in the first half, slotted in from close-range after the break, with Victor Moses adding a third with a fine solo goal moments later.

Rochdale then pulled one back with 15 minutes remaining to set up a nervy finish, but Jonathan Walters put the result out of doubt with a fourth in stoppage-time.

Few expected the third tier outfit to pose much of a threat to their top flight opponents, but the spirited hosts outplayed the Potters at times.

Keith Hill’s men enjoyed a dominant first half after falling behind early on, former Barcelona forward Bojan finding the net with a superb volley from 25 yards.

The League One side reacted well to the goal by coming back at their Premier League opponents and they really deserved to be level at the break, pressuring Stoke with some good build-up play and possession in and around the area.

All of the Dale’s effort was let down by their lack of quality in the final third, though, with Jack Butland rarely called into action as they landed just two of their eight shots on target in the first half.

They enjoyed a lot of success in midfield as Stoke struggled to cope, with Matt Done troubling the visitors’ back-four with some lively runs, and the winger went close to the leveller when he wriggled between two centre-backs and sent his shot dribbling just past Butland’s post.

Things then got worse for Stoke, who suffered a big blow with an injury to Bojan, the forward replaced by Ireland on 32 minutes after tumbling to the floor with a knee problem.

Rochdale continued the press for the equaliser, with Done again muscling in on goal but firing a tame shot straight at Butland.

Stoke, meanwhile, exhibited more urgency after the break and had the quality to punish the hosts, with substitute Ireland doubling their lead on 52 minutes when he slotted in from close-range after good wing play from Moses.

And the on-loan Chelsea winger got his name on the scoresheet just eight minutes later with a fine solo goal, skipping past two challenges on the left wing and cutting inside to tuck a rifled shot past goalkeeper Josh Lillis.

After a weekend full of shocks, it seemed Stoke had avoided becoming another Premier League fourth round casualty, but Rochdale finally produced the goods in front of goal on 75 minutes to ensure a nervous finale, Rhys Bennett firing home with a neat turn-and-shot after the Potters failed to deal with a free-kick.